Stranded plug-type signal bond



Feb. 1, 1944. H. .H. FEBREY 2,340,522

' STR'ANDED PLUG-TYPE SIGNAL BOND I Filed Jan'. 9, 1941 Patented Feb. 1, 1944 -z UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,340,522 v STRANDED PLUG-TYPE SIGNAL BOND Harold'` Febrey, South Orange, NHT., assigner tol The American lSteel and Wire Company of New Jersey, a corporation of New Jersey Application January 9, 1941, Serial No. 373,828

' 5 claims. `(ci. gesl-14.10)

This invention relates to stranded plug-type signal bonds suchy as have been used in large numbers by the railroads and which are made as shownv by Figuresy 4 and 5 of the H. H.Febrey Patent No. 2,008,786 With the terminals and ad-` jacent portions of the conductors hot galvanized so as to provide corrosion protection at the Welded junctions.

A'lvo problems have arisen during the use of these'lbonds. 'I he rst problem is that the bonds have shorter actual service lives than mill vibration, tests indicate should be expected, it being understood that rail bond'failures other than those caused by accidents are attributed to the elects of vibration. The second problem is that when the ydouble conductor type is installed, there isa tendency for the outermost conductor to loop excessively as it spans'the splice bar of a `rail joint, thus placing this conductor in a dangerous position when the conductorsvspan the top of the upperA splice bar` flange and detracting from neatness in all events.

In installing these bonds on a rail jointpthe terminal'plugs` are insertedin holes formed for this purpose in the rail Webs Ybeyond the splice bar ends, the conductor or conductors beingproportioned to span the outside of the splice bar and toV include relatively long radius curved bends leading to the terminal heads, these bends being necessary because the rail web holes for the ter` minal plugs are formed in alignment with those through which the ,spliceV bar nbolts pass while the bond conductor or conductors span the splice bar either over the top of its upper ange or over top, of its lower flange beneath vthe splice bar bolts, either arrangement necessitating the nientioned bends so that the conductor or conductors may extend downwardly or upwardly, as the case may be, tomthewterminal heads. Furthermore, since the terminal heads 4are positioned a plane inside that of the splice bar outside and at least partially inside'that of the adjacent vrail head, side, in the case of theprior art bonds itis necessary `to outwardly kink or yangularly bend the. conductor or conductors at points close to the terminal heads and in approximately vertical planes so as to permit the' conductor bends to fit around either the splice bar upper ange tcp ends beside the adjacent rail head sides, or

around thesplice bar ends over'topo'f the lower splice barflangerbeneath the bolts.

The mill makes and ships Vthese bonds with shipping and banning problems and is demanded by the railroads.l As willv now be eX- plained, the present inventor hasv` discovered that this practice is the cause ofthe rstproblem and isincidentally responsible for the second probs lem, these being the problems previously men'- tion'edi as arising in connection with the use of these bonds. j

As a means for determining the probable service llives, of bonds, it hasbeen customary for the mill Where the bonds are made to `subject them to various vibration tests. As previously indicated, these tests led the mill to expect the bonds ofthe type here involved to have longervservice lives-than they actually had when placed in service by the railroads. For many years there Was no explanation for the inconsistency, it having been generally thought that perhaps the mill test did not accurately duplicate the servicevi? bration action. g y

Sincethe present inventor invented the form of stranded plugtype signal" bond that is used today and was largely responsible for its adop- V tion by the railroads, he hasbeen 4actively interested in solving `these problems and, particularly, in determining the truth respecting the above situationt/ After4 considerable experimentation he fouhdthat when the bondsy were bent and kinked in the same manner the prior art bonds' must be when installed to a joint,` and were subjected to the sameiv'ibrationtest at the mill to Which the bonds were subjected Whenin their manufactured form prior tol bending and kinking of their conductors, the tests indicated shorter service lives than were indicated by the usually conducted tests. In fact, such tests of the bonds indicated service life 4expectancies comparable tothe service lives actually obtained by the railroads. 1

Delving further, this inventorfound that the kinks or angular bends formed in the conductors at the terminals` when the bonds 'were installed, caused `the 'galvanizing VVto rupture close tol the weldedjunctions, this being the only indication of any change in the bond structures resulting from their installation. `Since the galvanizing was applied only to cover the bare'r metal exposed by `the Welding heat, it being understood that i some or` all of the stranded conductor wires are straightccnductoisthe bends andl kinks prviouslyfrnentioned being; made in the field at the time of installation. This practice is required by steel protected against corrosionkby galvani'zing and that the terminals lare steelalso needing such protection, and since the ruptures didV not occurso as to eipose` this barevmetal to4 corrosion, `it did not seem at first that these ruptures were harmful.

However, subsequent investigations showed that the hot galvanizing applied to the terminals and adjacent portions of the conductors for corrosion preventive purposes not only performed this function but served to bond the outer conductor strand wires into integral units and, also, to'bond these units integrally to the terminals, these bonding eiects preventing vibration from localizing at the welded junctions in individual strand wires during the mill tests. l In other words, the hot galvanizing of the terminals and,k

adjacent portions of the conductors served to distribute the test vibrations from the terminals into the conductors at points Vremote from the terminals and apparently prolonged the service lives of the bonds by preventingV the vibration the case of an outer conductor of an installed bond than they are in the case of an inner conlocalizing in single wires of the stranded con- 1 the mill tests of stranded plug-type signal bondsV indicated that they should Vhave longer service lives than they did have in fact when installed, installation necessitating the described kinking or sharp bending which resulted in rupturing of the galvanizing adjacent the terminals whereby to permit vibration to localize in single Ywires of the stranded conductors so as to initiate ultimate fracture of the conductors through fatigue action. v- Y' In view of this, applicant developed a stranded plug-type signal bond Ahaving tapered terminal heads instead, of the cylindrical heads previously used universally in the interests of manufacturing economies. -The provision of these tapered heads involves a slight manufacturingcost increase but permits the provision of sides to which the conductors are butt-welded in their necessarily right-angular relationship so as to extend from the heads atvobtuse anglesrespecting the plug axes. The entire terminals and adjacent portions of the stranded terminals are hot galvanized as in the case of the priorjart bonds, but when the new bonds are installedin-either conventional manner itisunnecessary to make the kinks or angular-bends which were` formerly required at the terminals. Whether the conductors span the tops of the upper flanges of the splice bar or the tops of the lower flanges of the splice bar beneath the splice bar bolts, the conductors extend straight from the tapered terminal head sides to the long radius curved bends that go around the splice bar ends.

Because of this development there is no rupturing of the'galvanizing adjacent the terminal heads, whereby the galvanizing can'perform its bonding function discovered by this inventor. These new bonds have been placed in extensive use by the railroads and have been proved to have service lives comparable to those mill tests indicate are to be expected when these tests are made upon the .bonds as they are shipped to the railroads with their conductors straight. No difculty is encountered in the shipping and handling of the new bonds and the rst Vproblem mentioned in the forepart of this disclosure has been adequately solved bytheir use. Y

y Furthermore, the second problem has been solved by thesenew bonds, the present inventor havingvfound that the reason the outer conductor of the double conductor type,-looped excessively was because the path it had to span from terminal head to terminal head in the case of the prior art bond, was shorter than the path spanned by the inner conductor, this being true whether the conductors are positioned in either ductor, this causing both conductors to span the splice bar in parallel relationship even though the inner conductor spans the splice .bar at points located closer to the terminal heads.

It is to be understood that the conventional spliceV bar has an outwardly declining upper flange top which makes this top angular respecting the cylindrical terminal heads 0f the installedprior art bond,v while in case thejconductors Aspan thersplice bar on top of its lower ange beneath the splice barV bolts, the plane of the conductors must rotate as they bend around the splice bar ends. Although the second problem is not completely solved when the conductors occupy the second of the just named spanning locations, improvement isobtained.

A specic example of the invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of the new bond as it is manufactured and shipped Yby the mill;

Figure 2 is a side view of-a standard rail joint to which the new bond is installed;

Y Y Figure 3 is a cross section of'Figure 2 taken fromfthe line III-III. Y Y

More specifically, the drawing shows a stranded plug-type signalbond made inV accordance with the present invention with the outwardly-tapered terminal heads I that have been discussed. These heads are solid and the terminals have the usual plugs 2 for insertion in the rail web holes. The conductors 3 are strandedV and straight, the example being the double conductor type. In addition, the .ends of the conductors are buttwelded right angularly to the tapered sides of the terminal heads IA in planar alignment with the Yaxes ofthe plugs 2, the entire terminals and adjacent portions of the conductors being hot galvanized, the galvanizing extending on the conductors ybeing indicated at A. -The galvanizing is done by suitably conditioning the terminals and straight conductor portions, and dipping the ends of the bonds into hot molten spelter, this being done subsequent to the butt-welding of the conductor ends and heads and the galvanizing forming integral coatings over the terminals and the described conductor portions. The galvanizing is sufficiently heavy Vto bond the conductor strand wires together into units integrally connecting with the terminal heads. Furthermore, the taper of the sides of the heads I permits installation of this bond to a rail joint without kinking or angularly bending of the conductors adjacent the heads such as might rupture these integral galvanizng coatings.- The single conductor type is not shown since its appearance is so readily visualized by those skilled in the art. A

In Figure 2 the bond is shown installed. The rail joint illustrated by this figure is standard, it consisting of adjacent rail ends 5 joined by-a splice bar, 6 and splice bar bolts 1, one of the latter positioning the clip 8 that frequently is used as an aid in preventing the yconductors from being forced from position. In this instance the conductors span the outwardly declining top of the splice bar, the long radius curved bends necessary to bring them to the terminal heads being indicated at 3a. Both conductors 3 are of equal lengths and as shown by Figure 2 remain parallel throughout their lengths when installed, Figure 3 showing that the conductors extend straight from the tapered terminal head sides or faces to which they are butt-welded to these bends 3e. This means that the hot dipped zinc coatings over the end portions and the butt-welded junctions between the conductors and terminal heads, remain unbroken so as to protect the conductor end portions against fatigue and consequent early fracture. The same results are obtained insofar as fatigue protection is concerned whenthe conductors are installed on top of the lower splice bar ange beneath the bolts 1, although in that instance the conductors may not remain truly parallel throughout their lengths, this result being approximated more closely than usual, however.

'I'his application is a continuation of the application entitled Rail bonds led by the present inventor on September 28, 1938, and bearing Serial No. 232,182.

I claim:

1. A rail bond bonding rails joined by a splice bar with holes in their webs beyond the splice bar ends, the bond including terminals with pins inserted in the rail web holes and having heads providing outwardly tapered faces, and a stranded wire conductor spanning the splice bar top outside thereof and having bends beyond the splice bar ends toward the terminal heads, the conductor ends being butt-welded to the tapered faces of the terminal heads at positions beneath the rail heads, the taper of the faces respecting the terminal axes permitting the conductor to extend straight from these faces to .its bends while clearing the rail heads, the conductor end portions and the butt-welded junctions bearing hot dipped zinc coatings protecting the conductor end portions against fatigue.

2. A rail bond bonding rails joined by a splice bar having an outwardly declining top and with holes in the rail webs beyond the splice bar ends, the bond including terminals with pins inserted in the rail web holes and having heads providing outwardly tapered faces, and two parallel stranded wire conductors of equal length spanning the splice bar top outside thereof and having bends beyond the splice bar ends toward the terminal heads, the conductor ends being buttwelded to the tapered faces of the terminal heads at positions beneath the rail heads in alignment with the terminal axes, the taper of the faces respecting the terminal axes permitting the conductors to extend straight from these faces to their bends while clearing the rail heads and with the two conductors extending parallel throughout their lengths, the conductor end portions and the butt-welded junctions bearing hot dipped zinc coatings protecting the conductor end portions against fatigue.

3. A stranded plug-type bond comprising terminals having solid heads and plugs for insertion in rail web holes, and at least one straight stranded conductor with its ends right angularly butt-welded to the sides of said heads, said conductor being proportioned to span the outside of the splice bar of a rail joint and to include curved bends leading to said heads when said plugs are inserted in rail web holes formed beyond the ends of said splice bar, said sides being tapered toward the outer ends of said heads respecting the axes of said plugs so that the latter angle obtusely respecting said conductor, said terminals and adjacent portions of said conductor being hot galvanized subsequently to the buttwelding of said conductor ends and said heads with the galvanizing forming integral bonding coatings over said heads and said portions, the taper of said sides permitting installation of said bond to a rail jcint without kinking of said conductor adjacent said head such as might rupture said integral coatings and prevent them functioning to protect said conductor from localized vibration when said bond is placed in service.

4. A stranded plug-type bond comprising terminals having solid heads and plugs for insertion in rail web holes, and two straight parallel stranded conductors with their ends right angularly butt-welded to the sides of said head in planar alignment with the axes of said plugs, said conductors being proportional to span the outside of the splice bar of a rail joint and to include curved bends leading to said heads when said plugs are inserted in rail web holes formed beyond the ends of said splice bar, said sides being tapered toward the outer ends of said heads respecting the axes of said plugs so that the latter angle obtusely respecting said conductors, said terminals and adjacent portions of said conductors being hot galvanized subsequently to the butt-welding of said conductor ends and said heads with the galvanizing forming integral bonding coatings over said heads and said portions, the taper of said sides permitting installa-` tion of said bond to a rail joint without kinking of said conductors adjacent said heads such as might rupture said integral coatings and prevent them functioning to protect said conductors from localized vibration when said bond is placed in service, and without loss of parallelism between said conductors.

5. A rail bond bonding rails joined by a splice bar with holes in their webs beyond the splice bar ends, the bond including terminals with pins inserted in the rail web holes and having heads providing outwardly tapered faces, and a stranded wire conductor spanning one of the splice bar Iiange tops outside thereof and having curved bends beyond the splice bar ends toward the terminal heads, the conductor ends being right angularly butt-welded to the tapered faces of the terminal heads at positions beneath the rail heads, the taper of the faces respecting the terminal axes permitting the conductor to extend straight from these faces to its bends while clearing the splice bar end corners, the conductor end portions and the butt-welded junctions bearing hot dipped zinc coatings protecting the conductor end portions against fatigue.

HAROLD H. FEBREY. 

